The Welshman's "specific way of playing" is "incredibly effective" if you get it right, reckons Gary Rowett.

But what if it goes wrong?

"It looks defensive," says the Derby boss.

Pulis isn't the type to pay too much notice of critics but Rowett says there are risks attached to the way the Boro manager sets up his sides.

Rowett should know, he says he's adopted a similar set-up with the Rams this season.

Not that it's gone wrong for Middlesbrough so far, for the Derby boss thinks Boro's players have adapted "really well" to the style of play that has seen them rescue a stuttering season and stick around in the play-off mix in the second half of the season.

Since Pulis took charge at the end of December, Boro have picked up eight more points than Derby, the Rams spluttering through the second half of the campaign once more meaning they're now desperately clinging to their play-off hopes rather than targeting automatic promotion despite having been sitting pretty in second at the turn of the year.

Rowett's Derby sliced through Boro with alarming ease when they won 3-0 at the Riverside in November but the home boss doesn't expect the visitors to be as brittle at the back at Pride Park as they were in the first fixture.

"I'm expecting a very organised side," he said in his pre-match press conference.

"Tony Pulis is an incredibly experienced manager and knows what he wants.

"He has a specific way of playing. We've been criticised for it a bit, they drop in and make it very difficult to play through them. They work incredibly hard and have a very settled back four. Then they'll counter attack.

"It's a model a lot of teams use across Europe because it's very difficult to play against. But you've got to get it right. If you don't, it looks defensive. If you do, it looks incredible effective. They've done that really well."

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Rowett added: "They're like us. They've got a good squad, a good team. To have a £15m striker on the bench tells you the depth of their squad.

"We've already played them once and got a very positive result. It's a different type of team now, a different type of test, but for us there's no fear. It's up to us to put a performance on."

No fear and no pressure, insists Rowett. That despite a run of two wins in 12 that has seen Derby slip out of the top six ahead of a week of three tough tests. Following Boro is a home game against Cardiff City. Then comes a trip to Aston Villa.

Rowett says: "What is pressure? How do you define pressure? You can't measure it.

"For me, of course there's expectation at Derby County and there's a bit of external pressure, but internally we want to do ourselves justice and play to the potential we know we've got.

"For me, pressure is when you can't pay the mortgage or can't feed your kids. When you haven't got a job and you're worried about your future.

"There isn't that type of pressure, but you owe it to yourself and to the badge on your shirt."

Derby County manager Gary Rowett

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Rowett insists he won't be watching Millwall vs Fulham on the box on Friday night. He's not following Pep Guardiola's lead and playing golf, instead revealing that he's going to a barbecue at his mate's house.

A Millwall win there would make Saturday's game even more important for both sides. Rowett, though, insists he's not bothered about what's going on elsewhere.

"We're still in the mix, it's still in our own hands," he said.

"We've got some massive games coming up. It's a great challenge and with challenges you either rise to them or you don't. I'm looking for players who will rise to the challenge."

Rowett revealed in his pre-match press conference that Andreas Weimann and Kasey Palmer have both missed training sessions this week after picking up knocks, but haven't been ruled out of tomorrow's game.

Bradley Johnson and Marcus Olsson are back in training after recovering from injuries. The pair are lacking match fitness but are available for the game, Rowett said.